Demographic and Socioeconomic Correlates of Infant Health in a Primitive Tribe of Chhattisgarh

The study aims to explore the socioeconomic and demographic correlates of infant health in ‘Kamars ’ a primitive tribe of Raipur district in Chhattisgarh. A cross sectional survey with PPS sampling procedure was carried out in the study area. Information on all live births of ever married women (fertility history), demographic, socio-economic data and maternal and child health care was collected through structured scheduled. The total populations 3338 of 731 households were surveyed in 32 villages by trained investigators in 2006.The correlation analysis was used to estimate the association of demographic and socioeconomic characteristics with infant mortality. The average age at first birth was 18.2 years. Most of Kamar tribe women are illiterate (92%), and almost all deliveries (96.9%) are conducted at home and about half of these (48.7%) are assisted by untrained personnel. Maternal age (R =-0.603) and education (R =-0.702) have substantial negative effect on infant mortality. The study showed an evident association of demographic & socioeconomic factors with infant mortality. The poor health delivery care systems remain an important barrier in rural setting due to lack of means of transport and distance to medical facilities. Social, cultural, economic and environmental factors also affect infant health, especially during the post-neonatal period